Nation and world briefs

November 3, 2013 - 8:36 PM

nation + world

Alabama

Birmingham airport reopens after threat

The Birmingham airport has reopened after a threat prompted an investigation by bomb technicians and an evacuation that lasted more than two hours. Airport officials said in a Facebook post around 6:30 p.m. Central time that the airport had been secured and normal operations were resuming. FBI spokesman Paul Daymond said the agency’s bomb technicians worked with local police to investigate. Nothing was found after bomb dogs and officers did a sweep of the airport. Flights were delayed or diverted to other airports during the shutdown.

Texas

Ex-House speaker briefly denied voter ID card

Former House Speaker Jim Wright was denied a voter ID card over the weekend at a Texas Department of Public Safety office. “Nobody was ugly to us, but they insisted that they wouldn’t give me an ID,” Wright said. He says that he has worked things out with DPS and that he will get a state-issued personal identification card in time for him to vote Tuesday in state and local elections. But after the difficulty he had on Saturday, Wright, 90, expressed concern that such problems could deter others from voting. After spending much of his life fighting to make it easier to vote, Wright, a Democrat, said he is troubled by what he’s ­seeing happen under the state’s new voter ID law.

Canada

Toronto mayor apologizes, won’t step down

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford apologized for being “hammered” in public and acknowledged the need to curb his drinking, but the mayor of Canada’s largest city didn’t address allegations of drug use and said he will remain in his job despite mounting pressure to resign. “I’m going to weather this storm,” he said. Ford made his remarks on his local weekly radio show at a time when he is facing growing pressure to resign after police said they had obtained a copy of a video that appears to show him puffing on a crack cocaine pipe. Ford didn’t address the contents of the tape, saying he cannot comment on a tape he hasn’t seen. “I just got to maybe slow down on my drinking,” he said.

Nigeria

Suspected militants attack wedding convoy

Suspected Islamic militants attacked a wedding convoy in northeast Nigeria over the weekend, the latest in a storm of ­violence in the region as government troops battle religious extremists bent on turning Africa’s most populous nation into an Islamic state. Authorities gave conflicting accounts of the death toll, however — ranging from five to as many as 30, including the groom. The attack took place Saturday on the highway between Gama and Gwoza towns in Borno state, military spokesman Lt. Col. Muhammed Dole said. That road runs alongside forests that are a known hideout of Islamic extremists from the Boko Haram network.